The cardboard world of (but not in any way affiliated with) the New York Mets

Category Archives: GIFs

Duda doing all the things that Duda does

Another year, another batch of GIFs to entertain, amaze, and confuse. 2014 had a lot of highs and lows. And a lot of Lucas Duda. But before we got to the Mets’ first base conundrum turned revelation, let’s check in on the minors. This year, I experimented with GIFs from original video content shot at minor league games. I’ve already covered the 2014 Binghamton Mets in GIFs, so let’s start with the Brooklyn Cyclones.

Marcos Molina rocketed up the prospect lists in 2014, going from a relative unknown to one of the hottest pitching prospects in a system filled with them. Here he is on what must have been an off day for him. He still pitched well, but it wasn’t anything worth raving about.

One of the other big names in Brooklyn was Michael Conforto. Taken tenth overall in the 2014 draft, Conforto came with high expectations. He started his professional career off with an impressive hitting streak, which he is shown here extending. If he keeps this up, he could make it to the majors very quickly.

The Manchester experience in 16 moving pictures

Less than two months into the 2014 season, the B-Mets already have played their last regular season game of the year in Manchester, NH. They leave New Hampshire with a 7-3 record at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium after shutouts, blown leads, big hits, occasional downpours, and a 14-inning finale. Through all of it, the Binghamton roster has remained almost completely unchanged. Only backup catchers changed places, with Blake Forsythe (on the DL for his entire 2014 B-Mets stint) dealt to Oakland and Nelfi Zapata (who did not appear in a game in Manchester) replacing Xorge Carrillo after the latter’s call-up to Las Vegas. That’s effectively a stable 25-man roster to work with.

While I try to cover minor league games with as much useful information as possible, I have my limits. When it comes to giving an illustrated first-hand account that goes beyond what the box score will tell you, I can at least fake competence. But when people start asking about mechanics, I’ve got nothing. I don’t like watching games from behind home plate and I can’t tell a curve from a slider. I can juggle multiple electronic devices and capture photos and video while live-tweeting a game though. So I added a video camera to my usual game pack and quickly realized that getting sharp video at night games just wasn’t happening. Oh well. What does it all add up to? Damned if I know.

Let’s kick things off with Wilfredo Tovar enthusiastically grounding into a double play. Is this something he learned during his stint in the big leagues last year? Wherever he got it from, that’s a heck of a follow-through.

A few brief moments to remember in another lost year

Over at Notgraphs, they’re looking at the year’s best baseball GIFs. All they have from the Mets though is that one fan falling down in the background. I know what it was a dismal season, but there must be something worth GIFfing, right? Unfortunately, I don’t have most of it. Between being an out-of-market television viewer and Amazin’ Avenue’s Eric Simon going GIF-crazy this year, I’ve been off my GIF game. The competition is downright cutthroat these days, with some people spending hours every day in front of a multi-screened custom GIFfing rig so they can catch every GIFfable moment. So I don’t bother trying to get everything and just take what I can get. What follows is the second installment in our series of GIF roundups. If you missed it, here’s the first.

The $39 million man is worth every penny

With his move to Boston (and the AL), Shane Victorino has selfishly (praise Beltran) deprived Mets fans of his GIF-worthy antics. I would have loved to have seen him in a Mets uniform, but I enjoy seeing things that make people’s heads explode. Unfortunately, the Red Sox were far more desperate for a circus act after letting Bobby Valentine seek other employment, leading them to offer twice as much money as any sane person was expecting Victorino to get after a down season. Instead of Citi Field, we will have to settle for Fenway as the backdrop for the next batch of Victorino GIFs. And yes, there will be GIFs. While we were waiting for the home run derby in Philadelphia to end, I got to work on this spectacular display of teamwork.

And to think, Boston fans have three years of this to look forward to! Three years of spills, chills, mixups, and takedowns. In a way, I envy them. Sure, Jordany Valdespin has a knack for displays of momentary boneheadedness offset by occasional brilliance. But Valdespin isn’t getting paid enough to guarantee regular playing time. With Ellsbury in center, what could have been a disaster turns into a mere embarrassment. But with Valdespin in his place? You could sell tickets based on that alone.

There’s really no point to this beyond me not wanting to wait until next year’s GIF roundup to post this. And come on, this is pure brilliance. Victorino freezing in place as if to make himself invisible is what really sells this one. He didn’t try to make the catch or go after the ball when it dropped. He just curled up and disappeared. He’s on to us, you see. He knew the GIFs were coming and did his best to avoid making a scene. Shane Victorino is a GIF magnet. This is his blessing and his curse. And we are all better off because of it.

GIFfin’ ain’t easy

After a long, dark winter and a (seemingly) longer spring training, it’s finally here. We finally get to see games that count with lineups loaded with backups and journeymen filling in for the injured and prospects held back to wait out the arbitration clock. Baseball’s back!

Yeah, these games might not matter that much if you’re a fan of a team that has its sights set on 2015. Or a payroll of $20,150,000 if you’re a fan of the Astros or Marlins. That doesn’t mean we can’t have fun, though you should really get warmed up before any game activity. Since most of us won’t be getting closer to a game than discussion threads on blogs, that means getting ready to jump in with appropriate imagery based on the situation. I’m never up on the latest memes, but I do have some handcrafted GIFs suitable for all occasions. While this is not the most comprehensive collection of baseball GIFs, they should play smoothly. Beyond that, I guarantee nothing.